Homeless
by Draconem
Summary: Homeless. All she had after her mother died was a backpack full of her belongings, and her father figure. What happens when that is taken all away, and she is left alone once more? RATED M FOR VIOLENCE AND SWEAR WORDS.
1. Prologue: The Darkness

_**I DO NOT OWN TMNT, ONLY MY OCs!**_

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Night takes over the city of New York, lamps illuminating the streets with their light. Alleyways turn into traps during the night, darkness threatening to swallow up anyone who dare use them. But, there are few that can use these passages to their advantage, use them as hiding places, and homes. You see these people sitting against buildings, or on curbs. Sometimes you don't even spare them a passing glance.

You'll sometimes see them laying on benches, curled up trying to keep warm when the cold, fall nights change the leafs to amazing colours, and brings frost that covers the grass. They will sometimes hold out an old coffee cup, hoping that someone will give them some loose change for some food. Old, cut up, dirty clothes are some of their only possessions, but they treasure them.

The homeless.

These people disappear and reappear from these alleyways, sometimes you will never see them again after that. They will hide behind dumpsters, hoping to not be seen by the passing gang members. Some are very unlucky, they are seen, and they are used as the gangs punching bags. But, some of these people fight back,they refuse to be punching bags, they refuse to be taken down by these gangs.

This is the story of one of these people.

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**Authors Note: Hey guys! This is my first FanFiction post, and I hope you enjoyed this short Prologue! I promise the next chapter will be longer! ^^;**


	2. Chapter 1: The Savoir

_**I DO NOT OWN TMNT, ONLY MY OCs!**_

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Athena was perched on a small apartment building, looking down on a small, dark alleyway below her. It was another night in New York city, the lights causing a faint glow above the tall buildings. This was not her home. The trees, the open fields, and quiet roads, that was her home. She had come to New York when she was fifteen, her mother had finally found a job in a hospital, and she couldn't refuse the offer.

Before the move, her and her mother lived in a small town in the North of New York State. It was beautiful, the trees, the wildlife, all of it. It was her inspiration; she painted the trees in the fall, the snow in the winter, the new blossoms in the spring, and the rising sun in the summer. Moving to the city killed her inspiration. There were too many people, she could not go on quiet walks anymore without running into anyone. The only place that pleased her was Central Park, it was an hour walk away from her home, but it was her favorite place. She spend her summer days sitting on a bench in the park, looking at the sky.

That was until her little family got the phone call that would change Athena's life forever. Her mother had received a call, it was a nice day, the sun was shining, and it was warm enough to have the screen door open. They were sitting on the couch in their small living room when the phone rang. This was usually normal, her mother was always called into work early.

But when the phone dropped to the floor, and her mother started crying, she knew something was wrong. That was five years ago, five years ago to this day. Her mother fought the cancer that infected her lungs, for two and a half long years. Athena sold their house, sold most of their belongs to pay the bills, but nothing worked. Her mother was terminally ill. When her pain ended, when her mothers life ended, Athena was left with nothing other than her art supplies and a few pairs of clothes. She was left with nothing, and had no other family. The streets were her only option.

The alleyway below was empty, no one deciding to walk down it. She sighed, her shoulders sore from the backpack she had set down beside her. Her blonde hair was a greasy, messy, mop on her head, bits of it covering her bright green eyes. A baggy black shirt covered her long torso, and a pair of black basketball shorts covered her upper legs. She didn't wear shoes, instead she had bandage wrapped around the middle of her feet and hands. This made it easier to grip objects, and climb. She was muscular, her arms toned along with her legs from all the climbing and occasional fighting she was involved in. The streets were never safe, she could remember her first fight with a notorious street gang known as the 'Purple Dragons'. She was able to get away by climbing up one of the near by buildings fire escapes, her face was pretty messed up, and a large bruise formed on her shoulder from a punch that one of the thugs landed. Rubbing her shoulder she chuckled at how stupid she was then, mumbling to herself.

"I thought I could take three thugs.." Her voice quietly said to her before chuckling again.

A females scream ripped through the silence. A small girl had entered the alleyway, only to be confronted by a group of thugs, most likely Purple Dragons. Athena let out a huff, scanning over the lady who was now cornered. She was well off, and obviously didn't know her street smarts. Entering a dark alleyway isn't very wise, hell, it is never wise. But, many people still do it, thinking that they won't get mugged. Grabbing her backpack, she slung it over her shoulders, clipping it around her torso so it would be securely attached to her body. Grabbing her weapon, she aimed for one of the thugs. It was like a spear, a long metal pipe that was almost as tall as her with a sharp knife like object secured to the end with hockey tape. Standing up a little more, she threw it.

The spear hit one of the three thugs in the shoulder blade, a cry of pain echoing from him. It did not hit him hard enough to kill him, but it forced him to fall over. Athena jumped down, landing on the edge of one of the many dumpsters that lined the ally. She then quickly jumped off and backed into the shadows, her outline only visible. The thugs were too involved with their friend to notice her silent movements.

"Holy shit!" Screamed one of the thugs.

The two began to back away as the third fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his wound. Seeing her chance, she moved quickly out of the shadows towards the first thug, throwing her fist into his face. A crack sounded from his face, his nose breaking from the impact. He backed away, holding his face. Blood began flowing out of his nose as he began to run, his other friend following him.

She walked over to the thug on the ground and lowered her body to his level. Placing two of her fingers on his neck, she felt for a pulse. The beat of his blood rushing through his body was evident, he would be out for awhile, either that, or someone would find him. Grabbing her spear, she pulled, the blade smoothly sliding out of his skin and muscle. Rising up once more, she approached the woman who had now sat against the wall of the alley, fear spread over her features.

"Are you alright?" Athena asked, walking towards the woman, putting her hand out to help her up.

"H-how did you do that?" She stuttered out, lip quaking. "Is….is he dead? Are they gone?" The lady reached out her hand and grabbed onto hers, pulling her arm, she helped the girl to her feet.

Letting out a sigh, she let go of her hand and responded. "He isn't dead, but you should get out of here before he wakes up."

The girl nodded, but before running off she reached into her purse and took out a twenty dollar bill. The lady grabbed her wrist and forced the bill into Athena's hand before saying a quick thank you and walking away.

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**Authors Note: First real chapter! :D I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be a bit more interesting, so don't worry!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Objection

_**I DO NOT OWN TMNT, ONLY MY OCs!**_

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The wind rushed through her dirty hair as she hopped from building to building, heading towards her 'home'. She had to keep at a steady speed in order to clear the spaces in between the buildings.

Athena picked up these skills when after a fight for a bit of food with two other homeless men, it got really nasty, and she had climbed a near by building to get away. One of the men had followed her up the building, and corned her, the only place to go was the other building. She took a flying leap off the edge of the building, she could remember the air flowing under her, and the realization that she wasn't going to make it all the way. She threw her arms out, her hands just gripping the edge of the building. It took all of her strength to pick herself up onto the building, and a few days for the scratches on her hands to heal.

Since that night it had become easier and easier to hop the buildings, it was also safer than traveling the alleys at night. Her hand held onto her spear as she jumped, the blood of the thug still evident on the end. Stopping on a red brick building, she walked over to the side, putting the blunt of the spear behind her back pack. She climbed down the fire escape, and into another alley. This alley was bright, and full of life. Some fires burned in barrels as people rushed by each other, either trying to get their 'fix', or looking for somewhere to lay low for the night.

Making her way to the dead end of the alley, she stopped in front of a make-shift tent. Blanks, tarps, and a few poles held up the weak structure. They would have to take this down and move it tomorrow, the cops were always cleaning out their small communities. Puling out her weapon, she set it outside, hiding it under one of the sides of the tent. She opened up the flap to the entrance and crawled in. The structure was small on the inside, but the frail man that sat in the corner took up little space. A small grin covered his features as she entered in, kneeling on the other sleeping bag in the corner adjacent from him.

"Athena," he croaked out before a cough erupted from him, long years of smoking taking its toll. "how are you? You look a bit tired."

She grinned and unzipped her backpack, grabbing one of the contents. It was Coke, Jeremiahs favorite. Athena had picked it up on her way back from helping the woman with the thugs, the money the lady had given to her was a blessing, to say the least. A coke, a loaf of bread, and some water. This would keep both of them alive for now.

"Bought this for you," She said, handing him the bottle. "Thought you'd like it."

A wide smile emerged on the old mans face, his open mouth revealing that he had lost his two front teeth, and a few of the back ones. Wrinkles covered most of his tan skin, a ratty ball cap covering the rest of his head. Jeremiah grabbed the bottle, and attempted to open the top, his thin arms flexing. After a little effort, the seal popped, and the hiss of air escaping filled the small tent. He screwed the cap the rest of the way off, and threw it into one of the corners. Taking a swig, he handed the bottle back towards Athena.

Chuckling, she denied the bottle. "It's all for you, Jer. It's why I bought it." She said as the bread and water were unloaded from her bag. He laughed and took another drink, his loud gulping keeping the silence at bay. "I got our food for the week, or even more. Hopefully this'll last us until we can get more money." She explained before setting her back pack in the corner and moving to the center of her sleeping bag.

"You better sleep, you need it." She commented towards the old man, worry flashing over her features. He didn't look healthy, and she didn't have the money to put him into the hospital. She didn't want to think it, but she knew the streets were going to eat another good person.

"You worry-" Coughing interrupted his speaking, a hand covering his mouth. Athena moved over beside him, rubbing her hand on his back. "You worry too much." He finished, his eyelids beginning to droop over his ocean blue eyes. She sighed, putting her hand around his shoulder, giving him a side hug.

"I worry because I care, Jer." She began, her tone solemn. "You're all I have left."

Jeremiah had taught her everything about the streets, how to fight, and how to survive. He had taken her in, and accepted her, knew what she had lost. She couldn't lose him, and she wouldn't. A chuckle came from him, and she let go, moving back to her side of the tent.

"I'm strong, kid." He said while getting in the sleeping bag, resting his head on the pillow. "Don't worry about me."

His eyes closed, and soon, snores began to emanate from his side. Grinning, Athena climbed into her sleeping bag, the ground below it was bumpy and hard, but it was welcoming after a long day. Noise still emanated from outside the tent, but it was easy to drown out with the thoughts of the day. Closing her eyes, she could feel herself slipping into sleep.

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A crash came from outside of the tent, and a ladies screams were cut abruptly. Athena could hear men talking, and laughing at the open end of the alley. Getting out of her sleeping bag, she crawled over to the door, and poked her head outside. A group of ten were at the open mouth of the alley, one with a dragon tattoo evident. The Purple Dragons. They had cornered a small girl. Athena had spoken to her a few times when she had the down time, she was fifteen and was thrown out by her parents after a fight.

Jeremiah had woken up, and was sitting on his bag. She put one figure up to her chapped lips, signaling for him to be quiet. Sneaking out of the tent, she grabbed her spear from its hiding place and slunk into the shadows beside the tent. The alley had fallen silent, the rest of the people hurrying away, leaving their only belongings behind. Moving closer, she listened in to the conversation.

"Hey'ya girl," One of the men said, "This is Purple Dragon territory, and ye'know what we do to trespassers?"

The girl was shaking, she had backed herself against a wall, her eyes focused on the ground. The man grabbed her face, pulling it roughly upwards so that she was looking at him in the eyes. But this wasn't Purple Dragon territory, but it was on the edge. They shouldn't even be here.

"We make sure they don't do it again." He said when she didn't respond.

Slinking out of the shadows, Athena made her strike, swinging the blunt end of the pole into one of thugs head. As he fell to the ground she kicked another in the chest, he flew back, landing on the ground. The ring leader let go of the small girl, turning his attention towards the other. The one she had kicked had gotten up, and was part of the group circling in. This was an unfair fight, and she was too far from a fire escape to climb up in time. She nodded her head at the other girl to run, her eyes still filled with fear as she mouthed a 'thank you' and grabbed her bag that had fallen, getting out of the alley way as quickly as she could.

Athena's instincts told her to not get cornered, but the only way to go was backwards. Fear began to run through her veins, Jeremiah was still all alone, and he sure as hell wouldn't be safe if he made a noise.

_'Please stay quiet, Jer.'_ She thought to herself _'Please stay quiet.'_

A group of men surrounded her, a few wielded blunt weapons like bats and crowbars, and two had guns. The one that was holding the smaller girl stood in front of her, grinning. Her stare turned into a glare as she went to hit him with the side of her spear, he blocked it easily, grabbing the weapon and throwing it to the side. He reached his hand up and grabbed a wad of her hair, slamming her head back into the brick wall. He lifted his gun to the center of her forehead, and grinned.

"You think you can save your little friend?" He asked. "You're wrong, you can't. We'll go and find her after this. We just have to make sure you won't be a problem anymore."

She kept her green eyes open, her life may have been short, but many things happened. She remembered her first time colouring, finding her talent for the arts. Playing with her mom when she was young, going to school with the other kids, her mother dying, living on the streets. She stared at the thug straight in the eyes, waiting for the shot. That is until a loud shout came from the other end of the alley.

"You let her go you son of a bitch."

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**Authors Note: Here's another chapter, guys! I hope you enjoy it!**


	4. Chapter 3: The Fallout

_**I DO NOT OWN TMNT, ONLY MY OCs!**_

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It was like everything happened in slow motion. The shot, the loud noise, the bullet striking him, striking Jeremiah. A cry emerged from Athena, as, with all her might, she pushed away from the man that had held her. She pushed through the rest of the men through her shoulder, a new energy flowing through her. None of them stopped her, surprisingly. She fell to her knees beside the fallen, broken body of her friend, her eyes filled with shock.

"Jer!" She screamed, "Jer! It'll be alright, i'll stop the bleeding, you'll be fine!" her voice quickly said as she put both of her hands over the wound. They had hit him in the chest, probably hitting one of his lungs in the process. He heaved, his breath heavy. She applied pressure, trying to get the blood to stop. Sobs escaped her as she attempted to make it stop, she was not succeeding. Moving one of her hands off the wound, she grabbed one of his hands, squeezing it.

"Eh.." He began, his voice quiet. "You...you've done good...kid."

Her eyes widened as his stomach heaved one more time, and then stopped completely. Tears falling down her face, she shook him.

"JER!" She screamed, "JER, NO! DON'T GO!"

Her body shook as the sobs rocked her. She lifted his body into her lap, her clothes and hands becoming stained with his blood, tears dripping off her face. Placing her hand over his face, she gently pushed his eyelids closed. He saved her life, why, why had he. Why didn't he just stay in the tent. She began swaying, trying to contain her sadness. A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, she turned her head slightly. The hand was feminine, or at least looked it. Turning her head back down to her lost friend, she closed her eyes, waiting for the stranger to lose interest and leave.

"Is your friend alright?" She asked, worry filled her voice.

"DOES HE LOOK ALRIGHT TO YOU?!" Athena snapped back, her face turned into a snarl. The lady had red hair, and was wearing a purple top that didn't reach all the way over her middle torso. Athena turned back towards the body, rocking more. "He's dead." She whispered, her voice low. "He's gone."

The lady put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in. Why was this lady being so kind to her?

"I'm sorry." She whispered as Athena gripped the body harder. She didn't want to let him go, he was all she ever knew. Blood had spilled out onto her hands, pants, and shirt. Taking her hand, she wiped away some of the residue that had run out of her nose, some blood spreading onto her face.

"I know you just lost a friend," The other females voice rang through the now empty alleyway "But we cannot stay here, the cops will find the body and they will take care of it. He will be buried, and not rot in a dumpster" The womans arm had moved from Athena's shoulders to under her armpit, helping lift her off the ground. A small cry escaped her as she allowed her friend to fall off her lap. She didn't want to let go of the past, she wanted to live in it forever.

"What is your name?" The red haired woman asked.

"I-i'm Athena." The green eyed girl responded, her knees shaking as she came to a stand. She was slightly shorter than the other woman, and a bit bigger muscle wise.

"Ok Athena, I'm April," She told her "do you have any belongs that you want to take?"

Confused, she looked over at the woman named April. "...take?" Athena questioned, her eyes growing wide.

"Yes," She said back, a small grin growing on her face. "I have seen you around before, you are the one biting off more than you can chew, playing vigilante."

The wide eyed Athena looked to the ground, could people really see her that easily?

"Now, come on." She began to lift them off the ground, the smaller girls legs shaking. Stumbling, she grabbed grabbed Aprils arm, causing the other other girl to lose her balance slightly. "When was the last time you had a shower, or washed your clothes?" Said April, her eyes looking at her greasy hair and dirty clothes. Athena took the time to look over herself too. A distinct smell came from herself, and it wasn't a pretty one. She couldn't remember the last time she had a shower, let alone wash her clothes.

"I do not know," She said, her voice low "it has been awhile since i've even been in a house." She admitted, looking embarrassed at the ground, her hair falling over her face.

"Well, you will be clean soon. Pick up your stuff and then we'll go."

Walking by Jeremiah's body, she made her way to her temporary home. Opening the flap, she grabbed her backpack, slinging it onto her back. Getting back up, she quickly trotted back to April's side, her eyes still puffy. She nodded, and they turned out of the alley, making their way onto the main street. It was, for the most part, empty. The sound of our steps were some of the only noises made, other than a car passing by.

"Here." April said, turning down a small, dark alleyway. She had been here before, it was usually quiet. The grey stone building to the right was her usual sitting place, where she would sit and think. It made sense now, how April would've seen her. The door to the apartment opened, and she quickly made her way inside, closing the door behind her. The apartment was big, for her.

"Drop your backpack on the table here and go have a shower, i'll find you some new clothes."

Athena blinked, no one had shown her such kindness. Doing as she was told, she set her backpack on the table and entered the small living room, a full pizza was opened on the coffee table. The smell of the pizza was intoxicating as it made her ways into her nostrils. Moving towards it, a few other objects came into view. A Bo Staff was leading up against the couch, and some Nunchucks were resting on the table beside the pizza. Picking up the Bo Staff, she examined it. It seemed like her kind of weapon, but it was missing the blade. She didn't take April to be the weapon collecting type, or one for violence. Shrugging, she set the staff back where she found it, heading into the hallway and into what she assumed was the bathroom. Flicking on the light, she shut the door behind her and began to unwrap her hand hands and feet.

Starting up the shower, she too off the rest of her clothes and entered the shower. The water was warm, it gave her the comfort she needed. Believing her best friend, her father figure, was dead. Everything she had ever known for years was gone, where would she go? She didn't want to jump into April's life, not only that, living with Athena wasn't always the best. Sighing, she wet her hair and exited the shower, turning it off on her way out. Damn it, she had forgot a towel. Whispers came from the other side of the door, sounded like guys.

Narrowing her eyes, she slipped on her old clothes and quietly opened the door. Her blonde wet hair almost hit the bottom of her back as she made her way down the hallway to the living room. Peeking around the corner, four figures came into view. They had some weird things on their backs, they almost looked like shells. Narrowing her eyes more, she tried to focus. April was standing in the room with the four, and each had a colour. There was one with a blue bandanna, and what looked to be Katanas. Another with a red bandanna, with what looked like big forks. One of them was shoving pizza into his mouth, he had the Nunchucks on the table and an orange bandanna. A slight laugh escaped her as he shoved a full slice into his mouth, her hands quickly moving up to her mouth. Damn her and her loudness. She moved back away from the wall, and into someone else.

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**Authors Note: Sorry I haven't been posting that much, been really busy. Here is another chapter, I hope you enjoy it!**


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